The efficient regulation of cholesterol biosynthesis, metabolism, acquisition, and transport is an essential component of lipid homeostasis. The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a transcriptional sensor for bile acids, the primary product of cholesterol metabolism. Accordingly, the development of potent, selective, small molecule agonists, partial agonists, and antagonists of FXR would be an important step in further deconvoluting FXR physiology. Herein, we describe the development of four novel classes of potent FXR activators originating from natural product-like libraries. Initial screening of a 10 000-membered, diversity-orientated library of benzopyran containing small molecules for FXR activation utilizing a cell-based reporter assay led to the identification of several lead compounds possessing low micromolar activity (EC50's = 5–10 µM). These compounds were systematically optimized employing parallel solution-phase synthesis and solid-phase synthesis to provide four classes of compounds that potently activate FXR. Two series of compounds, bearing stilbene or biaryl moieties, contain members that are the most potent FXR agonists reported to date in cell-based assays. These compounds may find future utility as chemical tools in studies aimed at further defining the physiological role of FXR and discovering potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of diseases linked to cholesterol and bile acid metabolism and homeostasis.
胆固醇生物合成的有效调控、代谢、获取和转运是脂质稳态的重要组成部分。
法尼醇X受体(FXR)是
胆汁酸的转录感应器,
胆汁酸是
胆固醇代谢的主要产物。因此,开发高效、选择性的小分子FXR激动剂、部分激动剂和
拮抗剂将是进一步解析FXR生理功能的重要步骤。本文描述了四种源自
天然产物样库的新型高效FXR激活剂的开发。最初利用基于细胞的报告
基因检测法对一个含有10,000个成员、以多样性为导向的含
苯并
吡喃小分子库进行FXR激活筛选,发现了几个具有低微摩尔活性的先导化合物(
EC50值为5-10 µM)。通过平行溶液相合成和固相合成系统地优化这些化合物,得到了四种能够高效激活FXR的化合物。其中两个系列的化合物,含有
芪或双芳基部分,在基于细胞的检测中,它们是迄今为止报道的最强效的FXR激动剂。这些化合物可能在旨在进一步定义FXR生理作用和发现与
胆固醇及
胆汁酸代谢和稳态相关疾病潜在治疗药物的研究中作为
化学工具发挥未来实用性。